Family
by SR89
Summary: After House is shot, a previously well kept secret is brought out into the open. But how will his team react to the arrival of his daughter?
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so this is my first House fanfic, and it might not be very good. I'm in the UK so I haven't seen any of Season Three yet (though I know what's happening...roughly) so I am just going with my instincts here. Enjoy! (I hope)

* * *

"Cameron." House mumbled as he shifted in his hospital bed. It was midnight and she had been there every night for the past three days; ever since he had been shot. He had tried to get rid of her, and during the days she would do as he said and work her shift as normal, but every night around 9pm she would sidle into his room, and settle down in the chair beside him. Sometime she did paperwork, others she read. Today she was sat with her knees tucked under her, reading a medical journal. Her reading glasses kept slipping down her nose, but she was too absorbed in the article to notice. She jumped at the sound of his voice; he hadn't been talking too much over the past few days.

"What?"

"I need you to do something for me." Cameron returned her attention to the article.

"I already took care of your mail. Go to sleep."

"Not that. I need you to go to my apartment and check my emails. There's...someone who might be worried." Cameron looked at him. He was trying to avoid her gaze but he knew what she was thinking. Thing was, it was nothing like how she thought. "Please." Seeing House looking so vulnerable made Cameron's heart ache.

"Ok. I'll go first thing in the morning" She muttered, returning to the article.

"No, now." House said, returning to his usual tone of voice.

"Who is she?" Cameron set the magazine down on the cabinet beside House and confronted him.

"Cameron. Please, just go and check. It's too hard to explain right now but I need you to do this. Please." Try as she might, Cameron had never been good at saying no to him. She grabbed her magazine and stuffed it into her purse.

"Fine. Door key?" House pointed at the dresser unit opposit the bed. His jacket was lying across the top of it.

"Inside pocket." Cameron reached inside the jacket and found the keys.

"You owe me." she fumed as she left the room.

* * *

Cameron sighed as she let herself into House's apartment. The clock on the wall opposite her read "2.13". She had felt her eyelids dropping as she was driving over, and had decided to go via her own apartment first. She had showered and changed, and grabbed a cereal bar before getting back into her car.

She stared around the apartment. It was strange being here, without House. She felt like an intruder, even though she had used a key. It was a tidy apartment, with the piano stood gleaming in it's corner. She dropped her bag on the floor by the door and made her way through the rooms, noting the absence of dirty dishes in the sink, and the fact that Steve the rat had a full bowl of food. 'Wilson must have been here' she thought absently. Remembering what she had been asked to do she went into House's study; a small room with bookshelves lining the walls. His computer sat in the corner, on a retro-style desk. Papers and medical journals were strewn all over the desktop; she had to move them to even access the keyboard. 'Typical House' she thought, pressing the on switch and settling into the office chair while the computer loaded.

"PLEASE ENTER PASSWORD" read the screen. Sighing Cameron's fingers hovered over the keyboard. 'Princeton' she typed. "INCORRECT" Suddenly a phone started ringing, it's shrill noise breaking the peaceful silence of the room. Cameron jumped and stared at it. "WORK", stated the Caller ID. Hesitantly, Cameron picked it up.

"Dr. House's apartment."

"About time. I've been ringing every 15 minutes." House's voice came down the line. Cameron sighed.

"You didn't tell me your password."

"You left before I got a chance. It's Steve." Cameron felt the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile.

"Typical." She answered, trying to sound disdainful. "Goodbye House." She put the phone down on it's cradle, and after a second thought, pressed the "Ringer off" button. She entered "Steve" into the password box and the screen jumped into life. Resisting the urge to search through his private files, Cameron connected to the internet, automatically signing into MSN messenger at the same time.

"24 messages." flashed the screen alert. Cameron sighed, clicking on the link to open the email window. It was going to be a long night.

"You missed it." read the first email.

"Where are you? I called you. You MISSED it." said the second.

"Greg? What's going on."

"If you don't start emailing me I'll never speak to you again."

"Greg. I hate you."

"Please please please just return ONE email."

"I'm worried."

"I called you today. Where are you?"

And on and on it went, 24 messages from the same one person; "Amy". None of them were more than a few lines; mostly asking where House was, and what was going on. The final one, dated just an hour ago, read "Greg. I'm serious. I'm really worried and I know I'm not supposed to call you at work but if you don't contact me, I swear I will. And then where will you be. Please call me. I'm not even mad at you anymore, I just want to know you're ok. Amy." Cameron stared at the messages, her heart beating thunderously. Who was this Amy person? House's girlfriend that no-one knew about? She was contemplating sending a reply to this person; letting her know what had happened. She clicked the "New message" button, but before she could begin typing the messenger alert popped up.

"Amy" has just signed on". A few seconds later the messenger window appeared on the screen.

"Where the HELL have you been?!" flashed up. Cameron blinked. 'What am I supposed to do now?' she thought to herself.

"Greg? I asked you a question, where have you been?" Cameron flexed her fingers.

"This isn't Greg." she typed.

"What?" came the reply.

"I work with Greg, he asked me to check his messages."

"Dr Cameron?" Cameron's jaw dropped and she slid the chair away from the desk. What was going on here? How did this Amy person know who she was?

"Hello? Dr. Cameron? Did something happen to Greg?" Cameron stared at the screen, not knowing what to do. Her eyes were drawn to the corner of the screen, to "Amy's" display picture. She blinked when she realised who was in it. It was House, and a dark-haired teenager, stood together underneath a huge umbrella while sheets of rain poured around them. They were both grinning and he had his arms wrapped around her.

"Who are you?" Cameron typed slowly, pausing before she pressed 'send'.

"My name is Amy House. I'm Greg's daughter."

* * *

"Excuse me?" Cameron typed rapidly.

"I'm his daughter. Where is he, did something happen? Where's my dad?" came the quick reply. A thousand thoughts rushed through Cameron's mind. And suddenly one rushed to the forefront; House had specifically asked her to check his emails - he must have known that his daughter, 'his _daughter!_' would be worrying about him.

"Something happened. He's ok, but he's in the hospital." Cameron worded her answer as carefully as possible, even though she knew anything she said would upset the girl on the other end.

"What do you mean something? Did he come off that stupid bike?"

"He was shot. But he's OK, he's in the hospital and he's doing fine."

"I'll be there tomorrow." Came the answer, and then the alert box signalled that Amy had signed off. Before Cameron had a chance to think the phone rang, startling her so much she nearly fell off the chair. She peered at the caller ID - WORK. She lifted the receiver, sighing.

"Is she ok?" came House's voice. His tone was different to usual; softer, almost kinder and if she wasn't mistaken, slightly apologetic.

"She'll be here tomorrow." she answered, putting the phone back on its hook. Seconds later it rang again, the ID insisting that House was calling. She turned off the computer and left the apartment, the phone ringing loudly behind her as she shut the door.

* * *

So there it is - chapter one. Let me know what you think??? Please???


	2. Chapter 2

Amy stepped out of the cab, willing herself to calm down. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably and the cab driver had had to stop three times for her to throw up. She was terrifed of what she would see when she got to Greg, and what he would say when he realised she had broken their one cardinal rule: Never come to the hospital. Steadying herself on her black kitten heels she took a few tentative steps towards the doors of the hospital, knowing that once she went through she couldn't go back. 'Deep breaths' she told herself, striding through the automatic doors.

As the young girl walked nervously through the entrance of the hospital, Cameron knew instantly who she was. She was unremarkable compared to everyone else who was milling around the hospital, but something made her stand out, made her different. She was dressed simply in a white skirt with black lace trim and a white blouse. The white of her outfit made an attractive contrast to the waterfall of raven-black hair which fell down her back. It was held off her face by a Daisy shaped silver hair clip. The outfit made her look as if she was in her twenties, but when she looked nervously around it was clear she was much younger. She looked confident and terrifed at the same time. 'What am I supposed to do now?' Cameron thought, watching the girl gaze around her; awestruck. She noticed Cameron stood by the elevator and a small smile broke across her face. She began to approach Cameron, and as she got closer it was obvious she was shaking.

"Amy? I'm Dr. Cameron." She said to the girl, extending a hand. Amy took it gratefully, Cameron could feel her pulse racing through her fingers.

"It's nice to finally meet you." Amy replied. Cameron was shocked, she didn't know what she had been expecting - maybe an accent similar to House's, but instead what came out was an elegantly refined English accent. The smile reappeared. "You're exactly how he described you." Amy said. Cameron didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult but her heart still jumped at the thought of House describing her.

"I wish I could say the same about you." she noted, trying and failing to be subtle.

"Greg doesn't share personal details. Speaking of which, do you think I could see him?" Amy swiftly changed the subject. Cameron nodded.

"Sure. I told him you were coming." Cameron headed over to the elevators as she spoke, and noticed Amy freeze as she pushed the call button.

"I'm sorry but do you think we could take the stairs? I get really claustrophobic in lifts. I mean, elevators." Amy looked so apologetic and embarrassed that Cameron warmed to her even more.

"Of course."

As Cameron and Amy climbed the stairs, conversation was mainly focused on House; or Greg as Amy called him. Cameron desperately wanted to know how it was she had been working with House for so long and had never known about Amy. Moreover, how nobody - not Chase or Foreman, not Wilson and not Cuddy, had even known she existed. She was a well-guarded secret and it had taken a shooting to bring her out. Amy however was not forthcoming and asked surprisingly insightful questions about her father's medical condition. Cameron explained patiently that he had been shot, twice, but was coming through it reasonbly well. Amy had smirked slightly;

"He must be hating this. All the attention, and for a valid reason, not just because he's been a jerk. He hates being vulnerable." Amy's sharp blue eyes; so much like House's stole a glance towards Cameron. "But you know that." she added in her head. Cameron opened the door onto the corridor where House's private room was situated.

"It's this way."

* * *

Cameron led the way to House's private room. He was sleeping, his hand resting on the TV remote; General Hospital was playing. She waited by the door while Amy stepped bewildered into the room. She looked at the TV -

"Wow. You must be feeling like hell if you're willing to miss your show." She said aloud, reaching and taking the remote out of House's hand. She pressed the 'off' button, the television went black and she carefully placed the remote on the cabinet. Standing by his bedside she looked at him. He had a bandage on his neck, IVs full of pain meds running in and out of his arms and hands. Monitors beside him bleeped and whirred in a strangely comforting manner.

"Hi." she said quietly, but he didn't stir. "Hi." She repeated in a louder voice. Still nothing. "HI" She almost yelled. His eyes opened, shock registering as he recognised her face .

"Hey." He said gruffly, his eyes drifting towards the door, where Cameron was studiously avoiding the situation.

"How could you not call me sooner?" Amy suddenly shouted, outraged. She had been holding this in since speaking to Cameron the day before, she hadn't cried or panicked, just called the airport and booked the first plane ticket available. "I'm your daughter Greg, I'm your _GOD-DAMNED DAUGHTER HOW COULD YOU NOT EVEN CALL ME_? I have to wait almost a week to even be told?" Tears fell easily down her cheeks as she yelled at her father.

"I'm ok. Amy, I'm ok." House said calmly, holding onto her wrist. Her pulse was racing.

"You scared me. When you didn't turn up I thought you were just being a jerk, and then when you didn't return my calls I figured you probably had a case. I didn't want to bother you" she said all this in a quiet voice, twisting her fingers round a stray edge of his hospital-issue blanket. "You always said you would call me, I couldn't call you so I waited. I waited and I waited and I waited and then a week had gone by and I started to get worried. Do you know what it's like Greg? To just _not know?_ I really _really_ debated coming down here straight away but I thought no, I'm just being stupid but then it was two weeks and I was sending you emails...and calling you and I was going _crazy_ thinking of what might have happened to you."

"I'm sorry Amy." House interupted.

Amy nodded. "I can't lose you as well. I've decided. I'm not gonna be some stupid secret anymore Greg. I'm your daughter and you are going to start acting like a father, do you understand me?" Maybe it was the high levels of morphine, maybe it was temporary insanity or maybe it was just her, standing there looking way too much like her mother, but he nodded.

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated??


	3. Chapter 3

When Doctors Chase, Cameron and Foreman entered the conference room three weeks later they got more than they bargained for. Sitting at the table, poring over a patient file was Amy. She was dressed in black bootcut pants and a tight-fitting black t-shirt. This, matched with her dark hair; twisted into a half-bun, gave her a sophisticated look. Cameron recognised her easily but Chase and Foreman could only guess that she was the mysterious daughter the whole hospital had been talking about. She had been strangely efficient at only visiting at stupid hours of the night and Cameron had been irritatingly secretive. Amy looked up from the file and a smile flickered over her face.

"Hi." Was all she managed to say before House walked into the conference room from his office. He reached underneath Amy's elbows and pulled the file away from her. He held it open in one hand; saying "We have a new patient."

Chase and Foreman sighed, clearly House was going to ignore the blatantly obvious and pretend like this kid, his daughter, had always belonged there.

The three doctors spent the morning running tests on their patient, a seven-year-old girl, while Amy and House spent the morning in his office, listening to his iPod. He had sat on the couch, rather than at his desk, while she had assumed a cross-legged position on the floor, surrounded by various medical textbooks. Foreman had been surprised when, walking into the conference room he heard them both laughing. Then he had heard her voice alone, scolding her father. "I'm telling you, it's Horner syndrome. She has all the symptoms." House just laughed but Foreman, staring down at the MRI results was speechless. She was right.

The first chance they got to talk to her was when House went to lunch with Wilson. Unlike Chase and Foreman, Wilson had met Amy several times and when he dropped by the Diagnostics Department she greeted him with a friendly smile. She was sat at one end of the table in the conference room, filling in a medical journal crossword. Chase and Foreman were at the other end; catching up on paperwork from the Horner Syndrome patient, and Cameron was sat across from her, typing away on her laptop.

"Good first day?" he asked her, looking through the glass wall at the textbooks still spread on the floor.

"It's been fun." Amy answered, her English accent still sounding strange to Chase and Foreman. "I think every nurse in this hospital must have had an "errand" to run on this floor today...I feel like an animal in the zoo!" Wilson laughed.

"House around?" Wilson asked to no-one in particular.

"Office, General Hospital's nearly finished." Amy answered, filling in 9 Down - "hypoglycaemia". Wilson smirked and walked into the office without knocking. House was seated at his desk, his portable TV propped in front of him. The credits were rolling and he flicked the off switch, grabbing his cane from where it was propped up against the table. Despite the Ketamine treatment he still needed it sometimes. They returned to the conference room, where Amy was making a cup of coffee.

"Hey." House said and she turned around, lazily stirring her coffee. "Bring you back a salad?" he half-asked, half-told. She nodded and House and Wilson left the conference room. Amy smiled to herself and returned to her crossword, sipping her coffee. A few minutes passed, 13 Across and 21 Down were answered ("paralysis" and "metatarsal") and then she set down her pen, the noise of the plastic touching the glass reverberating in the near-silent room.

"You're dying to ask so someone might as well spit it out." She said. It was as if a fog had lifted somehow and Doctors Chase, Cameron and Forman all seemed to breathe easier. Foreman was the first to speak.

"Didn't it bother you? Him pretending you didn't exist?" Amy pushed her chair out slightly and pulled her knees up to her chest, sandwiching herself against the table.

"Start with an easy one why don't you?" Amy smirked. "He didn't know I existed until I was 12."

"Seriously?" Chase asked incredulously,

"My mum was barely older than me when she found out she was pregnant, and they'd only been together for a few months. She left, got the first plane back to England where she'd been brought up."

"That explains the accent." Foreman mused.

"We lived there until mum got sick. By then my grandparents had both died, and she didn't want to leave me in the hands of strangers. So we moved back here. The plan was for me to live with him after...well, that didn't exactly work so I found a really good school in Boston. And I've been his dirty little secret ever since."

"And that never bothered you?" It was Cameron asking this time.

"It did to begin with. Majorly. I actually set fire to his couch one time." Cameron and Chase looked shocked, Foreman impressed. "But we were both going through some stuff; me with my mum and...well you know what happened with Stacey; we barely knew each other...it wasn't practical living together. But contrary to what most people seem to think, he's a good dad. Really. Calls twice a week, emails most days and he comes to visit. So no, it doesn't bother me."

"I just don't get how he managed to keep you such a secret. No-one knew?" Chase asked,

"No-one. You know he took six months off after his infarction? Everyone thought he became a recluse, but I stayed with him and we got to know each other. The couch thing was the first week, and an accident by the way...by the time he was due to start back at work I had a place at a school in Boston. My decision, not his."

All three doctors had more questions to ask, which they were sure but they were interuppted by a salad bowl sliding it's way down the table, coming to a stop in front of Amy. The four of them turned and looked at House, stood leaning gently on his cane. He wasn't looking at them, but was staring at Amy's crossword.

"You left 3 Down blank...?"

"Echinococcus. Nasty." Amy reached out and took her salad. "Can I use your computer?" she asked him. He nodded and gestured towards his office door. She gave him a tiny peck on the cheek, as thanks, and snuck past him into the office. House stared at his doctors and they instantly returned to what they had been doing before. He grinned to himself. Wait until they found out that she was going to be here permanently.


	4. Chapter 4

Cuddy had been as surprised as the next person when the rumour had first flown around the corridors of the hospital. House...as a parent? It was one of those things you just never expected to happen, but apparently sometimes the impossible happens. And now here he was, stood awkwardly in her office asking her to give his daughter...Amy...a job in the hospital.

"Correct me if I'm wrong here," she said, lowering her glasses and enjoying watching House..._the_ Doctor House...squirm like a naughty little boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Amy is seventeen. She can't work here."

"Actually she's not seventeen until November." House corrected. "Cuddy I'm serious. She's more than good enough to work here."

"At sixteen? She cannot be a doctor at 16 years of age House! Get real."

"She moved to the States when she was 12, Cuddy and graduated High School within a fortnight - all she had do was take SATs. She scored a 1578." Cuddy allowed herself to look impressed. "She's been taking classes at Harvard for the past four years! Special arrangement with the Dean, two classes a semester. By the time she's officially old enough to apply she'll know more than most graduates. For God's sake she just diagnosed my patient!"

"She's still only sixteen House."

"The girl is a genius." This was what he hadn't wanted to do. Cuddy looked at him, and instead of seeing what she usually saw when she looked at House - a bitter, twisted, semi-mysogynistic doctor with a God complex. Instead, she saw a new side of him; the side that was insanely proud of his 'genius' of a daughter and wanted to show her off to the world, now that she wasn't a secret anymore. It was a nice side; and she relented.

"Think you can handle being your daughter's boss?" she asked. A rare smile flitted across his face. "Trial run only; one month. And five extra clinic hours a week."

"Deal." Cuddy struggled to maintain her composure; House agreeing to hours in the clinic? House in the meantime had left her office and was on his way to the Cafeteria - he had a salad to fetch.


	5. Chapter 5

"Pay up." Amy stood jubilantly over Chase, her hand held out. He looked around at Cameron and Foreman as if to ask for help but they laughed.

"I don't know why you're laughing _Doctor_ Foreman. I seem to remember that you were in on the bet as well. What was it? A hundred bucks? Pay up." Now Cameron was the only one laughing. Chase and Foreman dug reluctantly into the pockets of their lab coats; retrieving their wallets. Each paid Amy $100, sighing as she grinned victoriously and pocketed the cash.

"I still don't get how you knew what was wrong with the kid." Chase grumbled. Amy patted her nose, "Not gonna tell you so stop asking me. Coffee anyone?" Greg?" She changed the subject as House walked into the conference room.

"I thought I told you that you weren't allowed to bet on patients anymore?" he ignored her question. Amy's cheeks tinged a light shade of pink, but almost instantly she has resumed a defiant stance.

"You do it. And if Chase and Foreman are so eager to be parted with their money, who am I to say no? They should learn to _trust_ me." With her last words she shot a look at the two mentioned doctors.

"Yeah yeah OK we get it. You're a child genius of astronomic proportions. All bets are off." Chase said, earning a snort of approval from Foreman.

"Less of the child. But thank you." Amy replied. "Happy now?" she asked her father.

"Ecstatic." He quipped, "You're buying dinner with your winnings." Before Amy had a chance to object he was gone, half walking half limping down the corridor towards lunch with Wilson; another meal he wasn't paying for.

"Unbelievable." Amy muttered under her breath, at the same time as a beeping noise issued throughout the conference room. They all checked their pagers; Chase and Foreman's being the ones to have gone off. Foreman headed off to clinic duty, while Chase was needed to sign off on a procedure on the Foster kid; their most recent patient.

"Coffee? Asked Amy, holding up Cameron's usual cup and Cameron nodded absently; her mind wandering. If she was honest with herself, she loved having Amy working in the department; and not just because she had subtly taken over coffee-making and sorting House's mail – something Cameron had never enjoyed doing. She was a doctor, not a PA. Chase and Foreman had seemed ever so slightly threatened by having Amy with them. Even though she never actually saw the patients (one of the restrictions Cuddy had set for Amy to work at the hospital) she was almost always able to produce a plausible, and most likely accurate diagnosis. It was like she had swallowed every medical textbook ever written, although in reality it was a combination of brilliant genetics and the fact that the majority of birthday and Christmas presents Amy had received from her father over the past 5 years were medical journals and encyclopedias.

House was different with Amy in the department. She'd been there almost a month and there had only been two incidences where he had gotten mad about a patient's treatment. And both times he had sent Amy on some random task before he ranted at them. He was softer and he actually occasionally praised them for a quick and efficient diagnosis. Of course, he was still House; but he was House the Dad-slash-Doctor now. And it showed.

"Hello? Alison? Are you having an absent seizure?" Amy asked, waving a hand rapidly in front of Cameron's face. She snapped out of her daze and saw her cup of coffee sat steaming on the table.

"No." She laughed, noting that Amy had called her Alison, rather than Cameron. Strange.

"Thinking about my dad?" Amy asked, sipping her coffee and wincing as the scalding liquid burnt her lips. A telltale tinge of pink spread across Cameron's cheeks and she knew there was no point in denying it. Amy knew all about House and Cameron's 'dates' and secretly was desperately hoping that her stupid father would come to his senses, before Cameron gave up trying. As this thought passed through her mind, it was as if a light bulb had flashed on inside her head.

"Come to dinner tonight?" she said suddenly and Cameron looked shocked.

"Excuse me?" she questioned. In the two months since she had met Amy they had had dinner alone several times; mostly after a day of shopping. They had become friends.

"Dinner, tonight with me and Greg. I'm paying. Well, technically Chase and Foreman are paying but I thought we'd order Chinese." Amy rambled.

"Why?" Cameron questioned, noting the way in which Amy refused to look directly at her.

"You haven't been to the new house yet,"

"Neither has Wilson." Cameron interjected,

"Fine. You were the only one who believed my diagnosis with the Foster kid." Amy reasoned. Cameron gave in.

"Ok, sure. Dinner."

"Great. Come over to the house around seven thirty?" she scribbled down the address on the back of a scrap piece of paper. "Do you need directions?" Cameron shook her head.

"Seven thirty." Amy said, handing over the paper.


	6. Chapter 6

Cameron walked up the front path and climbed the three steps leading to the front door. The house was not what she had expected, not for House anyway. It was...well...normal. And pretty; the textbook fairytale type house. White siding, blue shutters at the windows. It even had a porch, though no porch swing. She smiled, sure that there would eventually be one, if Amy had her way like she had with the move. Definitely Amy's choice. As she reached out her hand to knock on the door, it suddenly opened, and she was met by Amy.

"Hey. Come on in." Amy stood back and let Cameron past. "Welcome to the House house." She grinned and took Cameron's jacket.

"Dad's hiding in the study." Amy said.

"You didn't tell him I was coming?"

"No, I did. That's why he's hiding...come on, I'll give you the tour." Cameron followed Amy round the house, through the large kitchen (that looked as if it hadn't been used in a while), the even larger great room (where House's piano stood pride of place, surrounded by boxes marked "Dad's stuff". Seeing Cameron look at the boxes Amy said;

"We've been here two weeks and he's refusing to unpack more than one box a night. At this rate, he'll be going until Christmas."

"I heard that." Came a voice from behind them. Amy and Cameron turned to see House standing in the doorway. He held out a Chinse take-out menu, which Cameron took.

"Pick whatever you want." Amy said, "I'll order when you're ready." Cameron scanned the menu...

"I'll have Duck Lo Mein, if that's ok."

"Sure. I'll be right back." Amy took the menu from Cameron and sidled past her father towards the hallway. House and Cameron heard her talking to the take-out place.

House looked at Cameron, not sure what to say to her. She was dressed casually, jeans and a black sweater. He wasn't used to seeing her in anything other than a lab coat; whenever she came by the old apartment to pick Amy up he would be conveniently engaged elsewhere.

"Did you want something to drink?" he asked, somewhat awkwardly. Cameron looked relieved when he spoke and said that yes she would.

"Beer ok? I don't know what's in the fridge."

"Beer's fine." Cameron shrugged, and followed him through the hallway into the kitchen. Amy was just finishing making the order and joined them.

"Should be about 20 minutes."

"How much did he offer you this time?" House asked her as he took two beers out of the refrigerator, and a Diet Coke for Amy. Cameron looked at him, confused. Amy laughed as she answered,

"Mr Huang, the guy who owns the take-out place wants me to marry his son. So far he's offering three hundred thousand and as many fortune cookies as I want. Last week it was two hundred and fifty, no cookies."

Cameron still looked confused and Amy continued,

"It wouldn't be a bad offer...but Mr Huang Junior is forty three years old. And still lives with his parents."

Amy pulled a face, making House and Cameron laugh. They were interuppted by the doorbell ringing.

"That wasn't twenty minutes." Amy muttered, leaving the kitchen to answer the door. Cameron and House heard her laughing and talking with someone, and seconds later the door was shut and Amy was back with their food.

"Apparently future daughter-in-laws get a rush on their food." Amy grinned, holding up the bag full of their order. She set it on the kitchen counter,

"Duck Lo Mein for Cameron..." Amy passed Cameron her container of food, "Duck Lo Mein for Dad..." Cameron looked slightly confused as Amy handed the container to House, "and Duck Lo Mein for me. Chopsticks anyone?"

"What?" House asked, seeing Cameron's bemused expression and taking a pair of chopsticks from his daughter.

"Nothing." She answered, and took a pair of chopsticks for herself. Seemingly unaware of the exchange between her father and Cameron, Amy was opening a drawer and retrieving a fork.

"Eating in the lounge?" she asked, to no-one in particular, before walking out of the kitchen again. House and Cameron followed a few seconds later to find Amy sat cross legged on a scatter cushion on the floor; her chopsticks in her hair and listening to Jazz on the CD player.

* * *

Four hours, more than just a few beers and three jazz CDs later, and House and Cameron were alone in House's living room. Amy had finally given in and gone to bed when she realised that House and Cameron; both slightly had been 'waxing nostalgic' about past patients for an hour and a half. And now that she wasn't there, the talk had turned to how House was adjusting to being a father.

"She called you Dad." Cameron said, trying to take a sip from her beer but finding it empty.

"When?" House asked, handing her a new one.

"Earlier when she gave you your food."

"Oh yeah. She does that now." House shrugged.

"How come?" Cameron asked

"Well Doctor Cameron," House said, aiming to be sarcastic but slurring his words slightly, "I don't know if you learned this in medical school...but there's this thing called sex." Cameron raised an eyebrow, "And sex, makes babies, which grow into Amy's."

"Riiight." Cameron said. "But she used to call you Greg, so why does she call you Dad all of a sudden?"

"I never really asked." House answered, "she just started doing it and it sounded OK, so I didn't tell her to stop."

"You like it." Cameron teased. "You like being a dad."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." House smirked, taking a swig from his beer.

"Liar."  
"Everybody lies." House said, repeating his age-old saying. Cameron took a slow, steady drink from her beer, before saying,

"Except Superman."


	7. Chapter 7

Amy House had a routine. She had had this routine since before she could even remember, and guessed she had picked it up from her mother. Over the years she had adapted it, to suit her life in Boston, and now to suit her life with her father. The routine was quite simple. She woke every day at 5.30, regardless of whether it was a Monday, Thursday or Sunday. She would get dressed in her running gear, go downstairs and quickly tidy up anything from the night before, set the table for breakfast, and then she would leave the house for an hour-long run. Every day, like clockwork. At first her dad had thought it was weird and slightly obsessive compulsive; the way she wanted to eat breakfast together every day, and her love of running, but he had accepted it and grown to enjoy seeing the table set every morning between 7 and 8 am, usually with his daughter sat cross legged on the kitchen counter; properly dressed now, and reading that morning's paper.

* * *

That day however, a Wednesday, was different. She dressed as usual, crept quietly along the upstairs landing, past her father's bedroom door, down the stairs and into tehe living room. She knew that something was different, but couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She scouted around the room, collecting empty beer bottles and chinese containers; the remnants of last night's meal congealing in a strange gooey mess. The CD player was still on, and she frowned as she switched it off. Her dad loved his stereo system almost as much as his prized piano...so why would he let it run all night? She padded her way through into the kitchen, stopping dead in the hall. Something clicked inside her head, almost like the cartoon lightbulb. Everything making sudden sense. She looked at the coat rack and saw a woman's jacket sandwiched between her own winter coat, and her dad's leather one. It was a jacket she recognised, and she smiled, turning around and walking through to the kitchen. She began to set the table, in her usual way, but instead of just two places, like she normally set, she set an extra place.

Finding a piece of note-paper and a pen from the affectionately nicknamed 'crap drawer' she scribbled a name, and dropped it by the extra place setting. Then she left for her run, the cold November air hitting her in the face and making her eyes water. Moments later, two sets of footsteps crept down the stairs.

"I'll see you later" said a woman, slipping on her jacket.

"Right. Later." replied House, opening the front door, letting the woman leave, and then closing it behind her. He sighed, rubbing his temples slightly, before going into the kitchen. He smiled, as he always did, at the already-set table, then sighed again when he saw the third place setting, with the note lying on the plate. Reading the note, and not knowing whether to feel happy or sad, he began to clear away the dishes. He dropped the scrap of paper into the waste-bin, and it landed face up; the name "Cameron" clearly visible.

* * *

Amy returned from her run at 7:23, and found her father standing at the stove, frying bacon. She knew that Cameron had left already, the jacket was conspicuously absent from the coat rack and when she glanced at the table she could see that there were now just the usual two place settings. Shaking her head slightly, but not wanting to make anything of it she set the morning newspaper down on the counter beside her dad, and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Morning," she said, "I'm gonna grab a shower and I'll be right down." Her father nodded in response and she headed out of the kitchen.

* * *

They didn't have a patient. They hadn't had one all week. Apparently, no-one was suffering from an obscure but life-threatening disease, which meant of course that House's team was suffering; from a case of acute boredom. They had finished charting, they had finished all their dictations and every single compulsory clinic hour had been duly attended. But even those patients were boring- runny noses, ear infections and pulled muscles galore. So Amy had invented a game. Chase and Foreman had been skeptical at first, but now, with the score 61 to Chase, 59 to Foreman and 65 to Cameron things were getting a bit more interesting. Foreman had suggested putting money on it; "the first to get to a hundred wins a hundred from the other two competitors" but Amy had stubbornly refused.

"What did my dad say? Besides…you're losing. Do you really want to make it worse by having to pay out a hundred dollars? _Again?_" Foreman had rapidly rethought the idea, and was now just trying to beat Chase.

"Okay…" Amy said, flicking through the pages of the medical textbook which was resting in her lap. "Ludwig's Angina is a type of what disease?"

"Cellulitis!" Foreman answered.

"Correct." Amy answered, marking up the point on the whiteboard.

"Oh come on. That was so much easier than the last question." Chase complained.

"Game over kids." House drawled, entering the conference room. He contemplated the scores on the whiteboard; "I declare Cameron the winner," before wiping them off. "We have a case."

* * *

After sending Chase to get a patient history, and Foreman to the clinic to complete the extra clinic hours he himself had been awarded for smart-talking Cuddy, House found himself left with Cameron and Amy. Cameron busied herself with making coffee, while Amy grinned and poked her tongue out at him. Over the past week she had teased him mercilessly about the night Cameron had 'slept over', something which he had yet to actually discuss with Cameron. He had tried refusing to talk to Amy about it, but she had inherited his stubbornness along with his brains and could be surprisingly manipulative when she wanted to be. Amy knew exactly what he was going to ask Cameron, and was thrilled about it – but that didn't mean she was going to make it easy for him.

"How about you go help Chase?" He suggested, to which Amy remarked,

"I'm not allowed." House made a frustrated gesture, and Amy tried not to laugh.

"You are now. The kid'll like you." He said, motioning for her to leave the office. Amy sighed, but walked to the door saying -

"He's a thirteen year old boy. He likes anything with breasts."

"Well then we mustn't disappoint him by just sending Chase, must we?" House mimicked Amy's English accent. He heard her laughing in the corridor. He also heard faint giggles coming from Cameron, though she still had her back to him. He didn't know how to start this conversation, he'd been trying for a week but it was difficult to know what to say. Cameron turned and handed him his coffee, their fingers touching slightly as he took it.

"About the other night." They said in unison, the cringe-worthy 'you first, no you first,' exchange following. House took a deep breath.

"The other night,"

"Yes?" Cameron practically whispered, not daring to look at him.

"Again?" he asked, and her head snapped up in shock. He was smiling at her. In the time that Amy had been living with him she had come to realise that of all the smiles he had; sarcastic smiles, sadistic smiles and secret smiles, he had one smile that showed he was really happy – most often it was when Amy was around. She returned the look, answering -

"Yes."

"Good. That's that then."

* * *

That night, Allison Cameron cancelled the lease on her apartment, packed up her things and moved in with Greg and Amy House. The day after, Greg took a black Sharpie marker and added her name to the mailbox outside. No-one else knew; Amy was sworn to secrecy on pain of having House send an email attachment of her baby photos to every single employee at the hospital. But she wasn't planning on it, she was perfectly happy to live in the little bubble that was her new family.

* * *

And I think that's THE END. Boo hoo. It is possible that there's going to be a sequel…or maybe just a continuation…let me know what you think!!! 


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